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An Irish Welcome

Céad Míle Fáilte friend and rover ... Wherever you come from and whosoever you may be.That's an Irish greeting and it means you are welcome a thousand times over.

Monday, March 15, 2010

O benevolent Spirit of consolation ...

All-Holy Spirit,

source of wisdom and sanctification, inexhaustible river of heavenly gifts and graces, accept a few words of prayer, which flow gratefully from one of your humble servants:

With your infinite power, you support and maintain the entire creation.

You are the source of natural and spiritual life. At the time of the creation of the physical world You moved above the darkness which covered the erth and vitalised its waters so that they would later reveal the wonderful variety of all forms of life. It is from You that the ever abundant streams of divine grace flow, which sanctify the faithful and carry out the great work of a spiritual harvest.

You abide in the Church;

You protect her from any error;

You guide her to the fullness of the truth;

You ordain her shepherds and teachers;

You bring to fullness the Mysteries of the Church and transmit sanctification through them;

You observe closely with tender love all the faithful to grant them whatever each one needs.

O benevolent Spirit of consolation:

You console the sick.

You accompany the abandoned.

You strengthen the weak.

You motivate the good to do good.

You prevent the fall of another.

You guide into virtue yet another.

To the sinner You inspire thoughts of repentance, and You support all those who are struggling to fulfil the will of the Heavenly Father.

And when our hearts do not know how to pray and what to ask from the heavenly Father, You, all-holy Spirit, will set our tongues in motion and will place words of prayer into our mouth. Even when we do not fully understand it, You stand by us with “inexpressible sighs” and with general support in our weaknesses.

For these inestimable gifts of yours, I thank You, I am grateful to You, I praise You, I glorify You and I beseech You to hear this prayer of my petition.

All-holy Spirit, I beseech You, make my body your temple.

Come to dwell within me, in the depths of my being, to be for me the root and the source of nourishment, preservation and growth of my physical and spiritual life.

I want You to guide my thoughts.

I want You to prevail in my heart.

I want You to be present in all of my being.

And I, encouraged by the subtle wind of your inspirations and enlivened by the divine refreshment of your grace, will be “transformed from glory to glory.” May I indeed so proceed from “power to power.” Grant me your grace to do the works of virtue and love and holiness, which You may accept as an offering of fragrant incense.

O how fortunate are those whose souls are inspired by your divine grace, descending from heaven upon them as a refreshing breeze and a life-giving wind!

Do not turn away from us because of our sins.

Do not reject us because of our weaknesses and our shortcomings which we continue to have.

Inaugurate in us a new life, the life that is consistent with the will of our Father in heaven, the life that has been taught to us by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.